Internal-combustion engine.



G. H. KWOWLES; INTERNAL 'comsusnow ENGINE.

APPLICATION FlLED APR. 3. 1917.. 1,257,248 PatentedFeb. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1-.

INVENTOR WITNESSES ATTORNEY G. H. KNOWLES.

'INTRNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3, I917. 1,257,248. Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- INVENTOR WITNESSES 3] warren G-EiJEGE H. KNOWLES, OF DULUTH, MLWIIESQTA.

INTE-REAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. April.3,1917. Serial No. 139,492.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it 'known that I, GEORGE H. KNOWLEs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented new and useful Improvements in lnternahCombustion Engines, of which the following is a specifi'cathat in each complete cycle of the engine,

the intake ports will register at the proper period, the same being true with regard to the exhaust ports.

A further object of the inventionis to so combine the tubular valve members,and so construct the same that they will mutually guide and direct each other so as to insure the proper registration of the ports of said vrded dlrectlyopposite the intake port 3 valve members. I

A further object of the invention is to provide valve members of the character re ferred to, and a valve casing or chamber of such formation that in conjunction with an oil feed pipe or conduit. said valve members act as a force feed means for lubricating said valve members and the casing or chamber in which they operate. The said force feed lubricating means may also be used for supplying lubricating oil to other parts of the engine requiring lubrication.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construe-- tion, combination and arrangement of parts, herein described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a sectional view of the engine, taken diametrically of one of the cylinders and the respective valve casing or chamber,

showing the valve members partly 1n eleva-.

tion and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the valve members.

Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive are detail views illustrating the valve members and the consecutive relative positions or movements thereof.

Fig. '10 is a ing shaft.

In the drawings, I have illustrated only one cylinder of an engine and the valve mechanism used in conjunction with said cylinder. lt-isflo be understood however that the valve mechanism hereinafter parplan view of the valve operat- Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

ticularly described-may be used in conjunction with any number of cylinders, there lee-- ing one valve unit for each cylinder and each valve unit operating both as an intake valve and an exhaust valve for its rerpective cylinner.

1' designates the engine cylinder having located at one slde thereof a valve chamber or casing2. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the valve casing 2 is formed integrally with the cylinder and communicates therewith by an intake port 3 and an exhaust port l, the intake port 3 being located adjacent to the cylinder head 5 and the exhaust port or passage 4 preferably extending through the head as shown in Fig.

1, thereby obtaining a more thorough scavenging action. The valve casing '2 is prowith a corresponding intake port 6 and is also provided directly opposite the exhaust port or passage 4 with a corresponding exhaust port 7. 8 designates a combined intake and exhaust manifold, comprising-- the intake passage 9 and the exhaust passage 10. The valve casing 2 is closed at one end by a .head ll-the purpose of which will. hereinafter appear.

The valve unit comprises a tubular valve member 12 having an accurate sliding fit in thereof with transversely elongated inlet ports 15 and is also formed in the opposite walls thereof with exhaust ports 16, the

ports 15 and 16 being in spaced relation to I each other. The innertubular valve meinber 13 is also provided in opposite sides thereof with transversely elongated inlet ports 17 and is further provided in the opposite Walls thereof with transversely elongated exhaust ports 18, the ports 17 and 18 being in spaced relation to each other but arranged closer together than are the ports 15 and 16 of the outer valve member 12.

As shown in Fig. 1, the ports 15 and 16 of the valve member 12 are located at the same distance apart as the ports 3 and 4 and at the same distance apart as the ports 6 and 7, all of which ports have been previously referred to. The ports 17 and 18 of the valve member 13 are however located closer together than the ports 4 and 5 and the ports 6 and 7 so that only one of the ports 17 and 18 may register at one time with one of the ports 15 and 16 of the outer tubular valve 1ne1nber12. One end of the inner tubular I valve member 13 is closed by a head 19 at that end adjacent to the closed head 11 of the valve casing 2.

The valve member 12 is cut away at 20 leaving only a semicylindrical extension 21 having formed on the inner extremity thereof a laterally projecting boss 22 terminating in a flat machined face 23 against which abuts one end of a connecting rod 24 the other end of which is connected to a cam or eccentric shaft 25 which is connected by gears to the crank shaft 26 of the engine so that the shaft 25 will be driven at onehalf the speed of the crank shaft 26. The inner tubular member 13 is likewise provided at its inner extremity with a laterally extended boss 27 terminating in a flat machined face 28 against which bears one end of another connecting rod 29, said rod being connected at its opposite end to another crank or eccentric on the shaft 25. The com necting rods are attached to the valve members 12 and 13 by journal pins 30 and the cranks or eccentrics 31 and 32 of the shaft 25 are set 45, more or less from each other so as to cause the proper reciprocatory movements of the valve members 12 and 13 controlled thereby. The valve members 12 and 13 and the actuating means therefor are so designed that in each complete cycle of operation of the engine, the intake ports hereinabove referred to are brought into registration with each other and at another period, the exhaust ports are all brought into registration with each other, this being necessary to adapt the engine to operate on the four-cycle principle. The inner'end portion of the tubular valve 12 is formed with an arcuate and substantially semicircular reinforcement or relatively thickened wall portion 33 terminating in oppositely located guiding shoulders 34 which extend longitudinally of the valve member 13 and ride against the correspondingly disposed shoulders 35 on the valve member 12 formed by cutting away the valve member 12, at 20, as above described. The shoulders 34 and i 35 form guiding means and in this way thevalve members 12 and 13 mutually guide each other, produce a smooth and accurate sliding action between said members and insure the proper registration of the ports of said members throughout the entire area of said ports.

36 represents an oil feed pipe which may lead from the crank case of the engine or other point of oil supply to the head of the valve casing 2, said pipe or conduit leading through the closed head 11 of said valve casing as shown in Fig. 1. The pipe or conduit 36 has incorporated therein a regulating valve 37 so that the flow of lubricating oil to the valve casing 2 may be accurately gaged or regulated, and said pipe or conduit also embodies a check valve '38 to prevent the return How of the oil. Between the regulating valve 37 and the head 11 of the valve casing 2, the pipe or conduit 36 may be provided with a branch pipe 39 and the last named pipe may lead to any part or bearing of the engine or its equivalent requiring force feed lubrication. As the in ner valve member 13 is closed by the head 19 and as said valve member 13 fits snugly within the outer tubular valve member 12,

in the reciprocatory movements of said valve members, oil also drawn into the valve casing 2 between the head 11 and theadjacent ends of the valve members 12 and 13. This insures perfect lubrication of the valve members and the wall of the valve casing 2 and by the same means, oil may be forced through the branch pipe 39 to various other points as may bewdeemed expedient. The water jacket 30 surrounds the Wall of the combustion chamber of the cylinder and also surrounds the major portion of the wall of the valve chamber 2 and extends along the opposite sides of the intake and exhaust ports or passages 3 and 4, thereby keeping the parts referred to cool, and preventing overheating thereof. This together with the perfect lubrication of the valve members and the valve casing, maintains the valve members in prime working condition causing them to operate silently and with a minimum amount of friction. The outer tubular valve member 12 is shown as surrounded by packing rings 41 arranged at opposite sides of each of the ports 15 and 16. While this is desirable in some cases, in actual practice it has not been deemed an essential feature, as after six months duty, an engine embodying the valve mechanism hereinabove described has been found to increase rather than decrease in its compression and power efficiency. The valve members remain comparatively cool and are perfectly lubricated at all times.

The valve mechanism hereinabove described may be manufactured cheaply and maintained economically as the valve members are practically of uniform diameter throughout, excepting only for the offset bosses at the inner ends thereof and thereinforcement 33 of the valve member 13. On account of the simple arrangement of the ports, a direct and free movement or flow or the incoming charges and the outgoing exhaust is provided for, this being one of the most important features in an internal combustion engine as it imparts increased power efficiency to the engine and prevents the rapid accumulation of carbon in the cylinders.

I claim 1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a cylinder, and a combined intake and exhaust valve unit embodying a valve casing having communication with said cylinder through an intake port and an exhaust port arranged in spaced relation to each other, said valve casing having complemental intake and exhaust ports directly opposite the first named intake and exhaust ports, an, outer tubular valve member mounted to reciprocate in said casing and formed in the walls thereof with oppositely located intake ports and with oppositely located exhaust ports arranged at the same distance apart as the aforesaid intake and exhaust ports, an inner tubular valve member slidable within the first named valve member and having intake ports directly opposite intake and exhaust valve unit embodying a valve casing having communication with said cylinder through an intake port and an exhaust port arranged in spaced relation to each other, said valve casing having complemental intake and exhaust ports directly opposite the first named intake and exhaust ports, an outer tubular valve member mounted to reciprocate in said casing and formed in the walls thereof with oppositely located intake ports and with oppositely located exhaust ports arranged at the same distance apart as the aforesaid intake and exhaust ports, an inner tubular valve member slidable within the first named valve member and having intake ports directly opposite in the side walls thereof and also having exhaust ports directly-opposite in the side walls thereof, the intake and exhaust ports of the inner tubular member being arranged closer together than the corresponding ports of the outer tubular member, a crank shaft driven valve actuating shaft, and operating means between the last named shaft and said valve members, operating to reciprocate said valve members out of unison, said valve members having longitudinally extending diametrically opposite abutting.

shoulders whereby said valve members mutually guide each other and insure perfect registration of the intake and exhaust ports of both valve members.

8. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a cylinder, and a combined intake and exhaust valve unit embodying a valve casing having communication with said cvlinder through an intake port and an exhaust port arranged in spaced relation to each other,said valve casing having'complemental intake and exhaust ports directly opposite the first named intake and exhaust ports, an outer tubular valve member mounted to reciprocate in said casing and formed in the walls thereof with oppositely located intake ports and with oppositely located exhaust ports arranged at the same "distance apart as the aforesaid intake and exhaust ports, an inner tubular valve member slidable within the first named \valve member and having intake ports directly opposite in the side walls thereof and also having exhaust ports directly opposite in the side walls thereof, the intake and exhaust ports of the inner tubular member being arranged closer together than the corresponding ports of the outer tubular member, a crank shaft driven valve actuating shaft, and operating means between the last named shaft and said valve members, operating to reciprocate said valve members out of unison, the outer valve member being cut away at one end to leave 105 diametrically opposite longitudinally extending guide shoulders, and the inner valve member being formed with corresponding shoulders which work in sliding contact gvith the shoulders of the outer valve memer; I

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

GEORGE H. KNOWLES.

Copies of this patent my be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. 

